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Ester Mbathera The Namibian Presidency has dismissed ongoing speculation on social media, claiming that Founding President Sam Nujoma has died. The presidential press secretary, Alfredo Hengari, made this statement on Sunday. "President Nangolo Mbumba and the government he leads communicate transparently. There is no truth to those misplaced allegations on social media," said Hengari. Nujoma's personal physician, Dr Tshalli Iithete, also added that the founding president is recovering well. Iithete said he is satisfied with Nujoma's progress. He also confirmed Nujoma's hospitalisation as a routine precautionary measure against an infection, considering his advanced age. "He is under the care of…

Ester Mbathera The ministry's decision to ban the export of raw lithium ore has impacted small Namibian miners seeking to establish themselves in the mining industry. Fabiola Awases, a small miner in the Otjimbingwe area who has relied on her claims for years, discovered lithium deposits on her land, but she is unable to profit from the minerals. “The decision by the ministry was premature. Before the ban, they had already given Xinfeng a competitive advantage to export some ore out of the country, giving them a starting capital. We could not,” she said. She advocated for all miners to…

Martin Endjala Police in the Zambezi region are tracking down stolen vehicles from Windhoek that have made their way to Zambia. The vehicles are suspected to have been bought with fraudulent purchase orders from public companies. These purchases' whereabouts are still unknown. Border Commissioner, Kenneth Simbwae of the Zambezi region reported on Wednesday that they had received a tip to pursue suspicious vehicles. According to reports, the vehicles had already entered Zambia when the police received the tip-off. It is also unclear what models the vehicles are. “At this stage, it is unclear as to which company or who the…

Niël Terblanché The Ministry of Health and Social Services (MOHSS) has appointed August 26 as the new contractor to complete the long-delayed construction of a neonatal unit at Swakopmund District Hospital. The project, valued at approximately N$26 million, is now expected to be completed by the end of this year. The tender, initially awarded to Shatty Construction in November 2020, faced numerous setbacks, culminating in the contract being terminated after the company failed to meet the February 2022 completion deadline. This is despite receiving payments from the government. The delays have significantly impacted the availability of neonatal care in the…

Ester Mbathera There appear to be no obvious legal avenues available to pursue reparations for the 1904-08 Ovaherero-Nama genocide. This is according to a recent report by the International Human Rights Clinic titled “Restitution, Reconciliation, and Reparations for Namibia.” The reports highlighted the difficulties in obtaining legal redress for the Ovaherero and Nama genocide, despite the clear classification of the events under both conventional and customary international law. The report emphasises the need for continued research into potential avenues for achieving restorative justice, both domestically and internationally. It also calls for further exploration of whether the non-retroactivity of the 1948…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja Many remember former education minister Katrina Hanse-Himarwa for her contributions to Namibia's education system. Hanse-Himarwa passed away early on Sunday morning at the age of 57. Her husband, Ghenno, who announced her death, remarked on her legacy of love and kindness. "Her unwavering strength, compassion, and the joy she brought us will forever be remembered," he said. Hanse-Himarwa was born on 22 January 1967, in Hoachanas in the Hardap Region, where she also started her political journey. She was a member of the SWAPO central committee at the time of her passing. Hanse-Himarwa has worked as a teacher…

Hertta-Maria Amutenja The moment you step into the Grootfontein Single Quarters, the pungent smell of urine greets you from what should be ablution facilities. The stench is overwhelming as if the very air is saturated with years of neglect. Scattered rubbish and crumbling buildings tell a story of forgotten people and forsaken promises, remnants of the apartheid era. This is the condition in which residents of single quarters have lived for years. “There is no difference from this pigsty we are in,” said Linus Iyambo, who has been living in the single quarters since 1992. These quarters, erected in the…

Martin Endjala and Ester Mbathera The reduction of seats by the deregistration of political parties by the Electoral Commission of Namibia (ECN) is said to have created a much bigger crisis in the National Assembly than initially anticipated. This is according to a former member of parliament and Rally for Democracy Party (RDP) president, Mike Kavekotora. He said that the ECN and the speaker of the National Assembly, Peter Katjavivi, must dissolve parliament with immediate effect. “The ECN was quick to deregister the Namibia Economic Freedom Fighter (NEFF), Christian Democratic Voice (CDV), and Democratic Party of Namibia (DPN), but it…

Martin Endjala In the quiet, isolated village of Omuntele, about 50 kilometres from Ondangwa, Joel Shikongo lives a life shrouded in the shadows of a tarnished legacy. His father, Petrus Shikongo, once a proud fisherman, lost his job in 2018 as a result of the infamous Fishrot scandal that rocked the Namibian fishing industry. “They call him Fishrot because of what he built when he was working in the fishing industry," he said. This nickname is a cruel reminder of his father's association with the Heinaste freezer horse mackerel vessel, now forever linked to corruption and deceit. "They say he…

Ester Mbathera The Municipality of Grootfontein has revived its sanitary towel distribution project by allocating N$36 000 of its operational budget towards girls' hygiene products at local schools. The project, initiated by the junior council in 2018, went dormant in 2021. Grootfontein mayor, Talitha Garises explained that the sanitary towels will be distributed among seven schools in the town. “The initiative was revived to ease the burden on the parents and to help keep the girls in school,” she said. Megameno Festus, the life skills teacher at Makalani Primary School, is one of the beneficiaries of the initiative. She explained…